Outerwear Edit from Shopbop
To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
Buy used:
$84.05
FREE delivery February 5 - 12
Or fastest delivery February 5 - 10
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Level Up Bricks
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Ships promptly from Amazon (Prime eligible) with 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Overall, the book is in good shape: tight binding, minimal shelf wear, and no water damage. The text may have limited notation, and it may be a former library book

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Gerald Imber
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted 1st Edition

by Gerald Imber (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 255 ratings
See all formats and editions
A major new biography of the doctor who invented modern surgery. Brilliant, driven, but haunted by demons, William Stewart Halsted took surgery from a horrific, dangerous practice to what we now know as a lifesaving art.

Halsted was born to wealth and privilege in New York City in the mid-1800s. He attended the finest schools, but he was a mediocre student. His academic interests blossomed at medical school and he quickly became a celebrated surgeon. Experimenting with cocaine as a local anesthetic, he became addicted. He was hospitalized and treated with morphine to control his craving for cocaine. For the remaining 40 years of his life he was addicted to both drugs.

Halsted resurrected his career at Johns Hopkins, where he became the first chief of surgery. Among his accomplishments, he introduced the residency training system, the use of sterile gloves, the first successful hernia repair, radical mastectomy, fine silk sutures, and anatomically correct surgical technique. Halsted is without doubt the father of modern surgery, and his eccentric behavior, unusual lifestyle, and counterintuitive productivity in the face of lifelong addiction make his story unusually compelling.

Gerald Imber, a renowned surgeon himself, evokes Halsted’s extraordinary life and achievements and places them squarely in the historical and social context of the late 19th century. The result is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man, whose genius we continue to benefit from today.

Previous slide of product details
  1. ISBN-10
    1607146274
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1607146278
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Kaplan Publishing
  5. Publication date
    February 2, 2010
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  8. Print length
    412 pages
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Clearly an homage to the man to whom “virtually every academically affiliated surgeon can trace his or her teachers,” teaching surgeon Imber’s effort is more than a biography. It is a scholarly reconstruction, complete with historical perspective, of the life of a man who managed to revolutionize surgical practices and, indeed, the entire field of surgery, while battling the enduring and debilitating consequences of self-inflicted medical experimentation. To make surgery more efficient for surgeons, safer, and freer of pain for patients, Halsted began to explore various methods of anesthesia, including the then recently discovered drug, cocaine. He became addicted. Failure to kick that addiction played havoc with his professional life and ultimately forced him to turn optimistically to heroin, generally thought at the time to be an effective treatment. The result was lifelong heroin dependence, despite which he was eventually able to not only function but also continue a brilliant career. Imber’s academic style and inclusive approach are solid but may not appeal to all tastes. --Donna Chavez

About the Author

Dr. Gerald Imber is a well known plastic surgeon and authority on cosmetic surgery, and directs a private clinic in Manhattan. An early proponent of prevention and minimally invasive procedures, he has devised many popular anti-aging techniques, and is attending surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital and assistant clinical professor of surgery at Weill-Cornell School of Medicine.

Dr. Imber has published many scientific papers and is a regular lecturer at professional meetings. He is also the author of a number of “beauty books” and has written on many subjects for varied publications such as Departures, and The Wall Street Journal, and appears regularly on network television.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kaplan Publishing; 1st edition (February 2, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1607146274
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1607146278
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 255 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Gerald Imber

Gerald Imber

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Gerald Imber, M.D., is a graduate of the State University of New York Medical College and was trained in plastic surgery at the New York Hospital Cornell Medical College, where he maintains a professional affiliation as a plastic surgeon and clinical assistant professor of surgery. He lives in New York City.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
255 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and well-written. They appreciate the thorough research and insights provided by the author. The book provides detailed information about medical history and the creation of modern medical practices. Readers praise the innovative methodology and character development of Halstead, a remarkable individual.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityInformation qualityMedical historyInnovationCharacter development
71 customers mention "Readability"59 positive12 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They enjoy learning about Dr. Halstead's life and accomplishments. The book reads like a novel, with descriptions of his genius and eccentric personality.

"...It tells the story of Halsted, but also gets into the other great men of those key times and places that were so formative to medical treatment and..." Read more

"...This book is well-written and obviously the product of enormous research...." Read more

"...William Halstead, one of the founding fathers of modern surgery, is impressive...." Read more

"...Author Gerald Imber does a superb job of portraying Halsted as a person with profound weaknesses as well as scintillating brilliance...." Read more

32 customers mention "Information quality"30 positive2 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They appreciate the author's personal insights and historical details. The book provides detailed information about surgical and medical pioneers, as well as modern terminology for conditions and procedures. It is a fascinating biography that anyone interested in modern medicine should read.

"...It presents information about what may be some of the controversial aspects of some of those men without passing judgement or making assumptions..." Read more

"...This book is well-written and obviously the product of enormous research...." Read more

"...First the special insight provided by the author's own experience as a surgeon makes the subject of this book come to life in a way that a typical..." Read more

"...other than 2 or 3 expressions that went unexplained, everything makes good sense even for the non-healthcare related reader...." Read more

31 customers mention "Medical history"31 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's medical history. They appreciate the medical pioneers and their great insights into modern medical practices, techniques, and training. The book is interesting for both physicians and non-physicians, as it provides an insight into early medicine and the state of medical schools at the time. Readers also mention that the book teaches them about early medical procedures and technology.

"...it is a great presentation of a great man who lived in a great age of American Medicine, and I can't recommend it highly enough." Read more

"...It will interest not only physicians and surgeons, who should never forget their past, but non-medical readers who may not know the fascinating..." Read more

"...and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great perspective on the medical happenings around the turn of the 19th century...." Read more

"This biography of Dr. William Halstead, one of the founding fathers of modern surgery, is impressive...." Read more

5 customers mention "Innovation"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's innovation. They praise Halstead's ingenuity and creativity, as well as his dedication to perfection and innovative methodology in modern surgery.

"...was performed with the use of antiseptic procedures and innovative operative techniques as well as establishing the still accepted approach of..." Read more

"...Halstead is a curious character -- brash, brilliant, idiosyncratic, who pioneered modern surgical techniques while tending to a 40 year daily..." Read more

"...seems so primitive compared to our era and I marvel at the inventiveness and creativity of Halstead...." Read more

"Dr Halsted's dedication to perfection and innovative methodology in the new way surgery was performed and his relentless attention to laboratory..." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They find the character fascinating and remarkable.

"...These issues are also described in relation to the remarkable personalities of Halstead and the men and few women he worked with...." Read more

"...Halstead is a curious character -- brash, brilliant, idiosyncratic, who pioneered modern surgical techniques while tending to a 40 year daily..." Read more

"Very good story about a remarkable individual...." Read more

"Long-needed bio of a fascinating character..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Nathan Esplin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book about a fascinating man and his times
    Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is a fascinating exploration of one of American Medicine's great men. It tells the story of Halsted, but also gets into the other great men of those key times and places that were so formative to medical treatment and training in America. This book is thorough enough to cover the subject, but not so deep that it gets tedious. It presents information about what may be some of the controversial aspects of some of those men without passing judgement or making assumptions that cannot be supported. Overall it is a great presentation of a great man who lived in a great age of American Medicine, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
    4 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • NH Doc 4385
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Surgeon Great Despite His Humanity
    Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    By way of full disclosure, I am also a plastic surgeon like the author, and know him. This book was recommended to me by a general surgeon friend, who believed that it was Halsted's cocaine and morphine addictions, which began at age 32 while he was experimenting with cocaine as a local anesthesic, that fueled his creativity.

    My opinion is that the truth is more complicated and more interesting. Halsted was great despite his addictions, but they clearly influenced his personality, his relationship with patients, with his peers, and his character as a teacher. Nevertheless, what he and his colleagues created at Johns Hopkins Hospital formed a pattern that the rest of us training in surgery a century later still follow, and from which we benefited immeasurably.

    This book is well-written and obviously the product of enormous research. It will interest not only physicians and surgeons, who should never forget their past, but non-medical readers who may not know the fascinating story of the seemingly primitive advances, so obvious to us – – like disinfecting wounds and wearing gloves during surgery – – that created Medicine as we know it today.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Richard
    4.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and insightul portrait of William Halstead
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The special appeal of this excellent new biography of William Halstead is two fold. First the special insight provided by the author's own experience as a surgeon makes the subject of this book come to life in a way that a typical biography would not . His perspective also illuminates the unique interplay between Halstead's enormous talent and a life long struggle with addiction. This is done in a sensitive and thoughtful but unsparing analysis which, to my knowledge, has not been done before. Secondly, the book includes a wealth of historical information concerning the early history of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as the state of American medical practice and education in that era. Without this context a full understanding of Halstead's enormous contributions and limitations would not be possible.

    The early Hopkins faculty and the generation of younger physicians they recruited and taught profoundly influenced the evolution of medicine in America. Dr. Imber explores the complex relationships between them and their many accomplishments in fascinating and instructive detail. Surprisingly, many of the conflicts we think of as part of modern medicine (between town and gown, laboratory and bedside medicine, full time and part time faculty) were already at play around the turn of the 20th century. These issues are also described in relation to the remarkable personalities of Halstead and the men and few women he worked with.

    The text is not as polished and well annotated as it might have been in the hands of a professional historian. However, whatever the level of these imperfections might be, they are fully compensated by Dr. Imber's complete grasp of the working lives of physicians and medical scientists as well as the diseases they struggle with.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Julian Guitron
    5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST FOR ALL MEDICAL STUDENTS
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    ... and if I was the Program Director, I would mail this book to all my incoming residents and make it a mandatory read before they start as surgical interns.

    This is one of my top 3 books and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great perspective on the medical happenings around the turn of the 19th century. It's fascinating to realize how the changes that took place and led to modern surgery hinged on a single person, Dr. Halsted (incorporating work of many over decades, of course).

    Some reviewers complained about the style, including some medical lingo, however other than 2 or 3 expressions that went unexplained, everything makes good sense even for the non-healthcare related reader. It's really hard to put this book down.

    If you want to get a feel for what it was like to live in the late 1800s, what the health care was before and after Johns Hopkins as well as the intricate minds of those visionary men that revolutionized the medical/surgical practice and education, this is the book to read, hands down.

    On a personal note, I greatly enjoyed reading on a few golden nuggets on Dr. George Heuer and Dr. Mont Reid, especially because they went on the become the founding Chairmen of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati, where I proudly practice.
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Renato M.E. Sabbatini
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of a Great American Surgeon, the Father of Modern Surgery
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This biography of Dr. William Halstead, one of the founding fathers of modern surgery, is impressive. Although the title has a focus on his addiction to cocaine, brought about by his self-experiments on its use on surgery as a local anesthetic (a good marketing gimmick), the book is exceedingly complete on his life and works, based in part on a lot of published and original material. What I found most fascinating was to see about the birth of modern medicine at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, since I have been a medical educator for the past 40 years, and the fabulous contributions of Halstead, such as evidence-based surgery (based on meticulous and exhaustive experiments with animals), anesthesia, gentle surgical handling, hemostasis, asepsis, etc. all not invented by him, but applied as a whole set of procedures which revolutionized surgery at his time. Most of the US surgeons are indirect "children" of his school. I strongly recommend this fascinating biography for anyone interested in the history of medicine and in medical education.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Dr Santosh Pai. Manipal
    5.0 out of 5 stars who doesn't know Halsted
    Reviewed in India on February 8, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Known as father of American Surgery had a secret life of drug abuse and addiction. Still his output was far more than any surgeon at that time.An excellent biography extremely well written sometimes unbelievable.We as under graduate medical students heard about the now modified Halsted Mastectomy for cancer breast.
    A gem in every surgeons library.
    Report
  • Graham W. S. Scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars INTRODUCTION TO THE REALITY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE
    Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    THE BOOK PROVIDES A GREAT BACKGROUND ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE AT JOHNS HOPKINS AND GOES WELL BEYOND THE ROLE OF HALSTED. IMPORTANTLY IT IS A GOOD LESSON FROM THE PAST AS TO THE ULTRA CONSERVATIVE NATURE OF MEDICINE AND THE RELUCTANCE TO OF THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO ACCEPT OR ADAPT CHANGES IN THE WAY THEY PRACTICE. THE LESSONS OF THE HALSTED/OSLER PERIOD ARE JUST AS APT TODAY IN THE RELUCTANCE TO EMBRACE EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE.
    Report
  • Lamboozler (Simon Lammy)
    5.0 out of 5 stars If You Care About Surgery, Read This Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book is simply superb. It is brilliant. Every surgical trainee, irrespective of their specialty, should read this book. It'll educate you in a character that contributed significantly to the rich history of our craft (not job). It was recommend to me by a general surgical SpR in Oxford, towards the end of my NIHR ACF in vascular surgery, and in turn recommended to him by a colorectal consultant in Oxford (who has a strong interest in surgical history). The importance of this book cannot be over stated as it blasts out some errors other modern authors place in their books, e.g. Atul Gawande, as distinguished as he is states in the Checklist Manifesto that observation charts were a by-product almost of nurses attempting to log down information properly, to make their task easier. Of course this did occur, but the roots lie in William Halsted, and this is not made explicitly clear in AG's book. The detail in this book, from the opening couple of pages through to the evolution of perhaps one of the most inspiration figures in surgical history is impressively done, e.g. Halsted taught, and inspired, the legendary Cushing, Dandy Walker, Young, was taught by Bilroth (amongst others), and worked alongside Osler, Welch and other notables. It is a must read.
    Report
  • Oenophilia
    4.0 out of 5 stars 近代外科の父
    Reviewed in Japan on June 12, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    著者のGerald Imber氏は形成外科医だそうです。アメリカにおける外科の父ともいえるWilliam Halstedの伝記であるとともに19世紀中頃から20世紀初頭の外科の発展や医学教育についても理解できる本です。Halstedの業績は、手術においては乳癌の根治的乳房切除術の創始、鼠径ヘルニア手術などで、特に前者は20世紀中旬までゴールドスタンダードでした。リスターの無菌手術を洗練させ、今では当たり前となった手術用ゴム手袋を開発しましたが、実は後に自分の妻となる手術場のナースの石炭酸や昇汞による皮膚炎の予防のためにグッドイヤーにゴム手袋を作らせたものでした。コカインを用いた局所麻酔も研究を行ったが、自分に実験投与する中でコカイン中毒となり、さらにその治療に使ったモルヒネの中毒にもなってしまった（Double Lifeの意味）。しかし鼠径ヘルニアの局所麻酔を最初に行ったのはクッシングだそうです。ほかに医学教育では外科レジデント制の採用で多くの優れた弟子を育て、その中には近代脳神経外科の父クッシング、泌尿器科のヤング、脳外科のダンディなどがいます。コカインやモルヒネ中毒で大学の教授として研究や治療を行ったことは現代人には理解しがたいことですが、当時はアルコール中毒よりもモルヒネに対して寛大であったようです。また特異な創設の経緯を持つジョンスホプキンス大学とその後の医学教育についても書かれていて、現代につながるメディカルスクールの歴史がわかります。なおプロローグでHalstedが母親に行った胆石手術が歴史的な最初の手術であるというのは誤りでGifted Hands: America's Most Significant Contributions to Surgeryによればジョンボッブスが最初とされています。
    Report
  • Qurratulain Chougle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Big inspiration
    Reviewed in India on June 1, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Great read for a breast surgeon in training like me.
    Report